Well, it has been a pretty good week. Thanks again for all your support. I'm still surprise about how well this story is growing.

Now, onward to the chapter.


Chapter 8: Trap in Paradise


Zoro immediately went for his swords when saw those people raise their guns. Robin quickly put a hand on his shoulder, silently telling him to be at ease. She then walked towards the railing so she could see the soldiers better. Sanji was also on guard, ready to jump in if anyone dared to try to harm Robin.

"We mean you no harm," Robin said in a firm, but gentle voice. "We are just searching for someone that we believe came from this city."

The captain looked unconvinced. "How can we trust you, pirate? Do you think by gaining our trust that we will be easy prey for you? Don't underestimate us just because you've found out about the barrier. We're still more than capable of defending ourselves."

"I speak the truth," Robin said without a trace of panic. "We are here because someone from your city attacked our captain. He has been severely ill for the last couple of days and we feel this person is the only one that can help him."

One of the people sneered at her. "Cry us a river you filthy..."

The captain held up his hand, stopping the guard from saying anything further. "What makes you believe this person can cure your captain?"

Robin became more hopeful since the guard captain was at least willing to listen to them. "We believe he is a Devil Fruit user. This person touched our captain's forehead and he has been in a coma for the past five days."

The soldiers looked at each other. Most had annoyed expressions on their faces, while others looked worried.

"Dammit, did that boy Toby do something again?" one of them grumbled

"He's knows better than to go near any pirate ship that passes through here," another soldier said.

"That boy is nothing but trouble," someone else muttered.

Zoro stiffened when he heard them whisper among themselves. They had finally found a lead.

"So, you know what has befallen our captain," Robin stated neutrally. Her hopes, however, had greatly risen.

The guard captain glared at her. "Even if we did, we would never assist pirates. You'll most likely sack our city once you get what you want."

"We would never do such a thing. We're not those kind of pirates," Nami insisted, seeing their chances of helping Luffy slipping away.

"A pirate's word means nothing," the guard captain said with a bit of heat. "But I'm also no fool. I can tell that even if we hit you with everything we have, you would still most likely defeat us."

"Captain!" one of the guards gasped.

"These are no ordinary pirates even by the New World's standards. I can sense several powerful fighters among their ranks," the guard captain stated as he glanced specially at Zoro, Sanji, Franky, and Robin. "If there was just one or two of them, we may of had a chance. But as things stand now, there's no hope."

Zoro was greatly impressed by the man. He apparently had Haki since he knew all of that without even seeing the entire crew.

"As much as I don't like it, we have no choice but to cooperate with them for the time being," the guard captain said reluctantly.

"But they will destroy our city!" one of them exclaimed. "I would whether fight to the death than surrender our city to a bunch of pirates!"

"They could destroy our city right now if they desired and we wouldn't be able to stop them even if we fought to the last man," the guard captain said almost bitterly. "It isn't like we can call the World Government to help us and if we can avoid bloodshed, I'm willing to cooperate with pirates."

Sanji stepped forward to look at the soldiers. "We don't want to harm anyone. We just want to save our captain."

The guard captain stared at Sanji for a moment. "The boy who most likely hurt your captain is named Toby. He's the blacksmith's son who lives in the middle of the city. If you want, I can escort you to them."

"We would be most grateful," Robin said humbly as she walked off the ship.

Zoro followed shortly behind her. "Watch the ship, love cook."

"Whatever, moss head," Sanji countered instinctually, but it didn't have its usual venom.

"Can I come too?" Usopp asked. He wanted to be one of the first to find out what had happened to his captain.

"I see no harm," Robin said after she glanced at the captain of the guard, who gave a simple shrug.

Usopp quickly climbed down the ladder and followed the guard captain into town.

Despite the entire island being hidden from the outside world, the city itself was as lively and as loud as any major metropolitan. They got their fair shares of stares and glares from the citizens, but most people chose to avoid them.

"This place seems to thrive quite well despite it being hidden," Robin noted.

"The World Government knows of our existence and they give us supplies from the outside world," the guard captain said. "In exchange for our rare trade goods, they keep our location a secret from most people. Given that this is the New World, it's one of the few things we can do protect ourselves from powerful pirates like yourselves."

Robin nodded in understanding. "I see, but how can you cloak an entire island? This place doesn't even show up on a Log Pose."

"That's a secret we've told no one, not even the government," the captain guard said firmly and he glared at Robin. "It would be devastating for not just us but for the entire world if our technology fell into the wrong hands."

Robin inwardly shuttered at the thought of the government or a vicious pirate crew getting their hands on such a cloaking device. They could literally hide an entire armada.

"I'm surprised that the government was not more insisting," Robin remarked. She couldn't believe that the World Government, who had no qualms with reducing an entire island to dust, would allow a cloaked island to live peacefully.

"This is the New World so the government can't afford to use their entire military might. The unstable weather around this area could easily sink even their best battleship. There is, of course, the danger of pirates, especially the Four Emperors," the guard captain stated. "The New World may be dangerous, but it does offer us protection."

Robin nodded in understanding, although she suspected that there was more to this story. That, however, wasn't her main concern at the moment. Her captain came first. Although she still had to fight the urge to explore the island. She was certain this city had a lot of history behind it.

After walking for about twenty minutes, they came to a small stall where a heavy set man hammered a piece of metal. He had a thick black beard that matched his coal black eyes. He was as tall as Zoro, but much more bulky.

The man looked up from his work to see the small group walking towards him. "Captain Jackson. What can I help you with today?"

Jackson glanced at the Strawhats, who stood behind him. "These pirates want to talk to your son, John."

John froze in place as he glanced at each of the Strawhats. "What...why?"

"According to them, your son attacked their captain a couple days ago," Jackson explained in a neutral tone.

The blacksmith's eyes went from surprise to cold anger. Zoro, however, could sense his anger wasn't directed at them.

"Toby, get your butt out here!" John roared, startling Usopp.

A young boy shyly snuck his head out the front door of the building before he timidly approached his father. "Yes, dad?"

His father pointed to the group of pirates. "Did you go near that pirate ship!"

The boy paused for a moment before he shook his head. "No...no. I've never seen any of them before."

Zoro narrowed his eye. "He's lying. I know this is the same boy I saw the other night."

"You're the liar, pirate!" the boy yelled, but there was a clear desperation in his voice. "I never went anywhere near your stupid ship!"

"I know you were there and you did something to our captain," Zoro said firmly. He had to curb his temper since losing it now would destroy the fragile trust they've build with the guard captain and they couldn't afford to fight the entire city. "You touched his forehead and now he's lying unconscious in bed without showing any signs of waking up."

The boy's father turned towards his son. "Boy, you used your powers, didn't you!"

Toby seemed to wither under his father's glare. "I..."

"Toby, please tell us the truth," Jackson said in a patient tone. "Did you board the pirate ship the other night?"

Toby stared down at his feet and he looked to be near tears. "Yes…."

"I told you to stay away from that thing. You know the law of this city. You can be banished for your actions," John said in a more calm, but serious tone.

Toby visibly paled when he heard those words.

"What possessed you to go anywhere near a pirate ship?" Jackson asked.

Toby couldn't look at his father or the guard captain as he continued to stare at his feet. "Jason and the others dared me to go and steal their pirate flag."

"A dare!?" Usopp exclaimed in disbelief. "This happened to Luffy because of a dare!"

Toby ran behind his father for protection. "I didn't mean it. But Jason recognized your mark and thought it would be cool to steal it and show it off. He told me he would let me hang out with his gang if I did it."

"Toby, I've told you to stay away from that spoiled brat and his friends," John said, deeply disappointed.

"I...I just wanted to fit in," Toby said, deeply ashamed. "They've never liked me because they think I'm a freak, so I thought this was my chance to prove myself."

Robin's heart went out to the boy. She understood all too well how it felt to be isolated and judged because of one's powers. At the same time, however, she couldn't be too sympathetic. This misguided child had hurt their captain.

"Listen kid, we just want our captain back to normal," Usopp said, trying to make his voice sound pleasant.

Robin knelt down so she could see Toby better. "Tell me, did you eat a Devil Fruit called the Dream Dream Fruit?"

Toby's eyes widened in disbelief. "How did you know that?"

"It doesn't matter. As it stands, you're the only one that can reverse it," Robin stated. "Our captain has been unable to break your power and I doubt he will be able to given how much time has already passed."

"From what I know, a person usually doesn't wake up on their own after the first two days," Jackson remarked off-handedly.

Usopp looked at the captain. "He does this often?"

"Often enough, although I can't entirely blame him," Jackson said as he folded his arms. "Most of the people he used his powers against did deserve it to some extent. You would think in the New World that people wouldn't treat fruit users as monsters. Especially given that Toby's powers will be enviable to us in the future."

"What do you mean?" Usopp asked.

"Toby has a very powerful ability, probably one of the strongest of his type. If trained and mastered, he can disable even the most powerful pirate," Jackson explained. "It can give us the edge we need to defend our home."

Usopp swallowed hard. As far as he was concern, Toby didn't need to be trained. He took out Luffy with a mere touch. He didn't even want to think if he could do the same to the entire crew.

Toby slowly nodded at Robin, not paying attention to the guard captain. "I...I can fix him. I just need to touch him again."

Zoro wanted to protest since he didn't want this kid anywhere near his captain again. But he knew he had no choice in the matter. As Robin said, at this point it was unlikely that Luffy would be able to break the boy's power and Luffy wasn't better off sleeping forever.

John sighed as he put his hand on his son's shoulder. "If he helps, do you promise not to harm my son? He may be a fool, but he meant no harm."

"You have our word that no harm will befall your son," Robin said. If everything worked out, she saw no need for further hostility.

John nodded. "You may be pirates, but I trust you for some strange reason. If you don't mind, however, I will come with you."

"You must also promise that once your captain is cured, you will leave our city and never tell anyone of our location as long as you live," Jackson added.

"You have my word as a swordsman, if this kid can reverse what he has done," Zoro said.

"Very well, then," Jackson said.

With everything arranged, the group made their way back towards the ship.

Throughout the entire walk, Zoro kept his eye on Toby. Boy or not, this kid was still able to take down their captain with no effort. He had a dangerous power and he had no intention of underestimated him. Even with all his training, it was still hard to guard against the unpredictable nature of a Devil Fruit user, especially one who could render him unconscious just by touching him.

When they reached the harbor they saw that the soldiers were still on high alert and were glaring coldly at the remaining Strawhats. They still held their weapons up, ready for any sneak attack. Sanji returned the glare as he leaned against the railing and calmly smoked his cigarette.

Zoro paid none of this any mind as he led the group onboard the Sunny. Jackson stood behind to steady his men. The last thing they needed was any kind of incident.

When Zoro and the others got on deck the rest of the crew, save for Chopper, quickly greeted them.

"So, this is the kid who started all of this?" Franky asked as he lifted up his sunglasses to get a better look at Toby. The boy hid behind his father again when he saw the huge cyborg.

"Yeah, that's him," Sanji confirmed as he blew some smoke. "I recognized him anywhere."

"Where's your captain?" John asked, wanting to get this over with. He was obviously uncomfortable being on a ship full of wanted pirates.

"He's here," Nami said as she led them into the infirmary. The rest of the crew followed shortly behind her. Soon everyone was cramped inside the small room.

Chopper was still checking Luffy when everyone entered. "Is this the boy?"

Robin nodded. "Yes and it would seem I was correct. He has indeed eaten the Dream Dream Devil Fruit."

"So, Luffy has been dreaming the entire time," Chopper said as he glanced back at his captain. He began to wonder what Luffy been dreaming. Was he having a happy dream? He hoped he hadn't been stuck within a nightmare with no way of waking up.

Toby looked over Luffy's peaceful face and realized just how young the Strawhats' captain really was. He looked so much scarier in the dark.

"That's your captain?" John asked in surprise. "He looks like he's barely into adulthood."

"You have no idea," Sanji muttered. Despite Luffy's childish nature, however, he has greatly missed the rubber idiot and couldn't wait for him to wake up and drive them all crazy again. Of course, that was after he beat him up for worrying them.

"Okay, Toby," John said firmly as he patted his son's shoulder. "You know what to do."

Toby nodded as he placed both his hands on Luffy's forehead. "Rêve Mondiale, Partez!"

A bright flash of blue light filled the room, causing everyone to turn away and shield their eyes. When their sight returned they all expected to see Luffy opened his eyes and shoot out of bed asking for food. That, however, didn't happen. They waited for what seemed like hours and Luffy didn't even twitch. His breathing was still heavy and his face was unmoved.

"It didn't work," Chopper said slowly as his hopes fading again.

Zoro glared at the boy. "I thought you said you could fix him?"

Toby became nervous. "Let...let me try again." He put his hands back on Luffy's forehead. "Rêve Mondiale, Partez!"

Another flash of light filled the room, but still nothing happened. Toby tried several more times, but Luffy gave no kind of response.

By this time, Toby was sweating bullets as he slowly realized that he couldn't undo his own spell. "Ummm...sorry, but I can't wake him."

There was a long silence in the room.

"What do you mean you can't wake him!?" Nami snapped. All of her frustrations over the last five days came pouring out. "It was your power that caused this!"

"Yeah...well..." Toby stuttered.

"Strange, you always were able to undo your powers before," John said as he stared down at Luffy. "Why is this any different?"

Toby put his hands in his hair. "I don't get it, it should work! He shouldn't still be asleep!"

"The book said that the user is the only one that can break the spell if the victim themselves are unable to do it," Robin stated, trying to hide her own panic. "Did we miss something?"

"Well, you did also say that book only gave basic information," Franky said. "Maybe there's more to his power."

"Toby, did you do anything different than usual?" John asked his son, ignoring the ongoing conversations.

Toby stumbled for an answer as he tried to calm down. "No... I did everything the same. Nothing's different! The only real different is the amount of time he has been asleep." He then paused for a second. "Now that I think about it...I didn't give him a nightmare." His eyes widened as he realized what had happened.

"What do you mean, didn't give him a a nightmare?" Brook asked, interrupting Toby's thoughts.

"Usually, I use my powers against those who tease me. I put those jerks into nightmares of their own creation and give them a taste of their own medicine," Toby said with a mischievous smile. He quickly lost his smile after he saw his father give him a death glare. "In most cases, though, it's so bad for them that they wake themselves up without my help. Kind of like any bad dream."

"And you didn't do that against Luffy?" Usopp questioned slowly. He too was losing his patience with this kid. He couldn't stand seeing Luffy like this.

Toby nodded nervously. "I did it in a hurry and without really thinking about it, but I'm certain that I said Belle Rêve, so I trapped him within a nice dream."

"So, he is within a paradise," Robin said. A part of her was relieved to know that Luffy was not suffering within a nightmare, but something told her he was far worse because of that.

"So what?" Zoro growled in frustration. "That doesn't explain why you can't wake him."

Toby bit his lips and tapped is fingers. "My ability to wake someone is limited to the person's desire. If the person wants to wake up, then they will wake up once I dispel the dream world. Which means if I can't wake your captain, then he doesn't want to wake up."

Another long paused followed.

"What, impossible!" Nami yelled in disbelief. "Luffy would never choose to live in some dream. No matter how pleasant it may be."

"My powers make the dream very real. It's so well crafted that everything seems real from the sights, sounds, smells, and even touch," Toby explained. "A person can even die within the dream world, so people can't wake themselves by getting killed like any normal dream. To the unprepared mind, my powers make the dream real. That's partly why I don't usually give pleasant dreams because there is an increase risk of the person never waking up, especially after so much time has passed."

"Are you saying that Luffy-san can no longer tell the difference between reality and the dream?" Brook asked as a deep sense of dread built within him.

"Either that or he chose to willingly ignore the fact that he's dreaming. For some, it's impossible to give up ones' heart desires," Toby said before he looked away from the pirate crew. His eyes were downcast in shame and sadness. "In either case, your captain has willingly accepted the dream world as his new reality. Because of that he'll sleep like this forever."

"You can't be serious!" Zoro roared. "You expect us to believe you!"

"It doesn't matter if you chose to believe me," Toby said firmly, trying to hide his growing fear. "Once one accepts the dream as real, they become beyond even my power to save."

Usopp shook his head in disbelief. His knees began to shake as Toby's words fully sunk in. "This...this can't be..."

"There has to be another way," Nami said desperately, trying to keep calm. Despite her best attempts, however, she could feel her own grief beginning to overtake her. She was closed to collapsing into tears.

"There isn't," Toby muttered softly.

"You better think of something!" Zoro yelled as he marched up to the boy. "It's your fault this even happened."

John jumped in front of Zoro's before he could reach his son. "Toby did everything he could for your captain. There's nothing more that can be done."

"I won't accept that!" Zoro yelled angrily. He was literally shaking in rage. After everything, after all their struggles, they couldn't lose their captain like this. Not to some kid with an overpowered Devil Fruit.

"It doesn't matter if you accept it or not, it's the way things are," John came close to yelling. Unlike his son, he showed no fear of the one-eyed swordsman. "The only thing you can do now is to allow your captain to pass peacefully in his sleep. Whatever he once desired in life, he can have within his dream."

"It's you who don't understand," Sanji said calmly, but he too was barely holding his own anger. "We came too far together to simply allow our captain to wither away in his sleep. We won't give up on him just because your son says it's impossible."

"Well, your captain obviously doesn't return your feelings given that he has chosen a dream over you," John countered harshly. "You are here worrying about his health and he isn't even thinking about you."

"You know nothing of our captain," Brook almost growled, startling some of the Strawhats. "He may have been fooled into accepting the dream, but he would never choose to stay in one if he knew how much he was hurting his crew."

"How can you be so sure?" John challenged as he glared at the skeleton. "He has everything he wants in his dream. Why would he care about any of you?"

"Because we're his family," Brook said without missing a beat.

John wasn't expecting that answer. He had some experience with pirates and most were a selfish, self-serving bunch of bastards. The only real exceptions that he knew of were the late pirate Whitebeard and his rival Red-Haired Shanks. Both of them, however, started pirating before the Golden Age of Pirates. The newer generation was much more cruel and heartless than the ones before Gold Roger's death. To see this powerful, but young crew referred to themselves as family was just unbelievable.

Then again, their captain did storm Marineford during the war in an effort to save his brother. He supposed loyalty among pirates hadn't died with Whitebeard.

Chopper frowned as he continued to look at Luffy's prone body. "Isn't there a way for us to bring him out of his dream? Maybe if he sees or hears us, he'll realize that he's dreaming and wake himself up."

Franky nodded. "No Devil Fruit is unbreakable, no matter how powerful it is."

John looked at the reindeer. "I doubt you can reach him in this state and you can't just enter someone's dream."

Toby's shoulders stiffened at those words.

"We have to try something," Usopp said almost desperately. "We just can't abandon Luffy."

Robin looked at Toby. "There must be something within your power that can help. A Devil Fruit user usually has more than one way to disengage their power. As Franky said, no Devil Fruit is unbreakable."

Toby did everything he could not to met Robin's eyes. "There...there may be something. But it's extremely risky."

The fading light of hope quickly reignited in the room.

"What is it?" Brook asked for all of them.

"I can go into his dream," Toby answered.


Yeah, we're about to go into the heart of the story, Luffy's dream itself. I kind of feel sorry for the Strawhats, though. Nothing just can't be easy for them. This all could have ended quickly if Luffy didn't accept his dream, but you can't really blame him.

I also thought about going into more detail about the cloak city, but it really isn't important to the story. In fact, I could write a whole another fanfic just based on the premise.

Ricebovino, I try my best to put my own twist on a story even when I rip the premise. That was why I was kind of worry about something being very obvious, so it's kind of hard keeping things fresh. I won't call what I'm doing reinventing, but I do my best.

Chocobaby, I honestly didn't see the irony of the situation until I read your review. It was so brilliant that I had to add it to John's speech. So, thanks a lot.

Regezu, thanks for the high compliment and glad I have been making your day lately. I do think Oda is a brilliant storyteller and I think that is a nice change from most shonens. Now, I'm a fan of shows with semi-shallow stories, Dragonball still being one of my favorites shows even today, but I will admit it was the overall story that turned me from a casual fan to a hardcore fan. I think he learned well from Nobuhiro Watsuki, another brilliant storyteller.

With all that said, until next time.